Pierre-Étienne Fortin (December 14, 1823 – June 15, 1888) was a physician and political figure in Quebec, Canada. He represented Gaspé in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a Conservative member from 1867 to 1874 and from 1878 to 1887, he also represented Gaspé in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

from 1867 to 1878. In 1887, he was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

for Kennebec division.

Biography

He was born in

Verchères Verchères is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,692. History In the 17th century, the settlement at Verchères w ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

in 1823, grew up in Laprairie and studied at the

Petit Séminaire de Montréal Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans *Petit (EP), ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua *Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four *Petit G ...

. His uncle was Ludger Duvernay, Patriote and publisher of ''

La Minerve ''La Minerve'' (French for "The Minerva") was a newspaper founded in Montreal, Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) by Augustin-Norbert Morin to promote the political goals of Louis-Joseph Papineau's Parti patriote. It was notably directed by Ludge ...

''. Fortin graduated from

McGill College McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University ...

in medicine in 1845 and practiced at Laprairie. He helped treat patients during the typhus epidemic of 1847-48 at Grosse-Île. In 1849, he led a group of mounted constables that controlled riots after the passing of the Rebellion Losses Bill. From 1852 to 1867, he served as magistrate protecting fisheries in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Fortin also served as customs agent in the Gulf and, with his ship, ''La Canadienne'', was the sole guardian of law and order in this region. During this period, Fortin also published a list of fish found in the Gulf region and prepared descriptions of marine mammals found there. In 1867, he was elected to the federal and provincial legislatures for Gaspé. He was named commissioner of crown lands in the provincial executive council but resigned in 1874 after a scandal implicating the party in power. In the same year, he resigned from federal politics after it became illegal to hold seats in both houses. In 1875, he was named speaker for the provincial assembly; he was forced to resign in 1876 after allegations of improper procedures in his election. Although he was later exonerated, a replacement had already been chosen. While in office, he helped promote the development of the Baie de Chaleur Railway,

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

service connecting the

Gaspé peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick o ...

to the rest of the province and the installation of

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s in the region. Fortin also helped to establish formal education in navigation in Canada. He opposed

reciprocity Reciprocity may refer to: Law and trade * Reciprocity (Canadian politics), free trade with the United States of America ** Reciprocal trade agreement, entered into in order to reduce (or eliminate) tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions on ...

with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and was a strong defender of Canadian fishing rights. He helped found the Société de Géographie de Québec and served as its first president. He died in Laprairie in 1888, while still a member of the Senate. In 2002, the Quebec Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune named a wildlife reserve on the Richelieu River after Pierre-Étienne Fortin.

References

*''A life on the line : Commander Pierre-Étienne Fortin and his times'', W. Brian Stewart (1997)

External links

* * *
''USQUE AD MARE: A History of the Canadian Coast Guard and Marine Services'', Thomas E Appleton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortin, Pierre 1823 births 1888 deaths Canadian senators from Quebec Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Conservative Party of Quebec MNAs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from La Prairie, Quebec People from Verchères, Quebec French Quebecers